Lions Swimming in Fourth after Day One at SSC Championships

Feb 13, 2013

CLEARWATER, Fla. - The 2013 Sunshine State Conference Swimming Championship is off to a fast start at the Long Center in Clearwater, Florida. On the opening night of competition on Wednesday, all four events saw new meet records set.

After day one, Nova Southeastern leads on both the women's and men's side but the Lions have made their fair share of strides on the opening day of the event.

"We had a lot of great performances tonight," Head Coach Paul Mangen said. "The sample size is good enough to tell us we are going to have a good meet. I'm really excited to see how all their hard work comes to fruition."

The Lions biggest strides came on the men's side where Saint Leo finished as the bronze medalist in the 200 yd. freestyle relay. In both swims, the Lions set a new program record with a time of 6:37.74, good enough for a NCAA Division II 'B' cut.

That wasn't the only record to fall on the Lions' big board as Kaitlyn Hite's 10:50.33 in the 1000 freestyle sets a new program mark.

Also setting NCAA Division II 'B' standards for the Lions was Patrick Ceddia, who posted a seventh-place finish in the 1000 free with a time of 9:36.47. Gabe Keown also managed a 'B' cut when he led off the Lions' 800 Free B relay with a 1.42.85 time.

Team totals at the Championships saw the NSU women tally 121 points to take the early advantage. Tampa is second with 77 points. Florida Southern is third with 69 points. Saint Leo is fourth with 44 points, followed closely by Lynn with 41. Florida Tech is sixth with 36 points, and Rollins is seventh with 25.

The NSU men totaled 113 points to take the lead. Florida Southern is second with 89. Tampa is third with 64, followed by Florida Tech, who is tied with the Lions for fourth with 54. Rollins is sixth with 39 points.

Action at the Long Center will continue on Thursday, with preliminaries at 10 a.m. and finals at 6 p.m. For a full schedule of events, visit the SSC Swimming Championship Central page.